How to wear an Indian Saree

Before you start, two essential parts of attire, that go along with the Saree, need to be chosen carefully to compliment the Saree. These are:

Petticoat (Skirt)

The practice of wearing petticoats as undergarments was well established by 1585. Petticoats were worn throughout history by women who wanted to have the currently fashionable shape created by their clothing. The petticoat(s), if sufficiently full or stiff, would hold the overskirt out in a pleasingly domed shape and give the impression of a smaller waist than the wearer actually had. It would also complement the desired large bust.

For the first two decades of the twentieth century, multiple petticoats fell out of fashion; narrow, sometimes tight, skirts became more common. Then, in the late 1920s, chiffon dresses with several sheer petticoats became fashionable. With the Great Depression in the 1930s, narrow skirts returned and petticoats again were unpopular until the end of the decade when revived for some evening, prom, and wedding gowns. World War II, with its rationing and general shortage of materials, brought an end to petticoats.

Petticoats were revived by Christian Dior in his full-skirted New Look of 1947 and tiered, ruffled, stiffened petticoats remained extremely popular during the 1950s, especially with teenage girls. Most of the petticoats were netlike crinoline, sometimes made of horsehair. Increasingly, nylon chiffon, taffeta, and organdy were used in petticoats. Many department stores carried an extensive variety of styles and colors of petticoats until the early 1960s. They were also available through the famous Sears and J.C. Penney catalogues. Typically, at least three single petticoats were worn, until manufacturers began making double and triple layer petticoats. A narrow slip was usually worn under the petticoats, especially the crinoline type, because they tended to be "scratchy".[2] A petticoat generally designed to be slightly stiff, so that it will inflate dress worn over it. Petticoats have been included in women's undergarments for centuries.

A petticoat is the main undergarment worn with a sari. Sari petticoats usually match the color of the sari and are made of satin or cotton.[6], A notable difference between the western petticoat and sari petticoat is that the sari petticoat is rarely shorter than ankle length.

A petticoat is a waist to floor garment very similar to a lehenga or skirt which is tied with the help of string or naada at the waist. It is worn under a saree. Petticoats and skirts are often made of cotton or polyester cloth. Usually a petticoat is of the matching color with sari. The saree is incomplete without a blouse petticoat. The blouse petticoat can be many in different varieties. They must have a firm waistband. Elastic will not do. One step on the petticoat and down comes the sari. The modern Indian petticoat is reminiscent to a skirt made up of many A - line panels. This has the advantage of giving a slim silhouette and using less fabric. The other petticoat is 4 yards of 45 wide fabric gathered onto a 3 inch wide waistband. This is the one which can be used for hot weather or when you need to walk a lot. This gives a greater movement and more air movement.

Blouse (Braissiere)

A blouse which needs to be tight-fitting and whose color needs to be chosen keeping the look of the saree in mind, can be short sleeved or sleeveless, with a variety of necklines. The blouse ends just below the bust.

Blouses also known as cholis are available in various designes and styles. Saree is worn with a matching or a contrasting blouse which give a very elegant look to a saree. Sleevless, deep neck, haulter neck, bell sleeves blouses are available to give the best look to the beautiful Indian sarees.

An Indian blouse most commonly refers to a woman's shirt. Blouses are often made of cotton or silk cloth and may or may not include a collar and sleeves. They are generally more tailored than simple knit tops, and may contain "feminine" details such as ruffles or embroidered decorations.

Blouses have buttons reversed from that of a men's shirts. That is, the buttons are normally on the wearer's left-hand and the buttonholes are on the right. The reasons for this are unclear, however. Some suggest this custom was introduced by launderers so they could distinguish between women's and men's shirts, and could thus charge more for women's blouses, supposing women are more gullible and submissive. Another theory suggests that the tradition arose in the middle ages when one manner of manifesting wealth was by the number of buttons one wore.

Now days knot blouses are also very much in vogue. A blouse reveals more than it conceals. Its cut, color and the way it is worn would tell you about whether the woman is casual, carefree, bold, reticent or orthodox. It is a dead giveaway of a woman's attitude and personality. Little wonder, blouses are no longer treated as mere decorative garments. As designer Suneet Verma puts it: "It is a statement of a woman's sense of freedom, an expression of female vanity and, most importantly, a celebration of feminine grace."

Wearing Saree

Wearing a Sari the Traditional Way

Step 1. Around your body. Starting at the navel, tuck the plain end of the saree into the petticoat and continue tucking till you take a complete turn from right to left. Adjust the lower end of the saree to the height required. Ideally wear your footwear so that you drape the saree to the right length.

Step 2. Measuring the pallu. Hold the top edge of the saree where the pallu is and bring it around your hips to the front and over your left shoulder, thus measuring the length of the pallav or pallu. The pallav should hang down the back to the knee. You may pin your pallu to your sari blouse provisionally.

Step 3. Making pleats. Create pleats with the saree. Make about 7 to 10 pleats and hold them up together so that they fall straight and even. Tuck the pleats into the waist petticoat slightly to the left of the navel, taking care to see that the pleats are turned towards the left.

Step 4. The pallu. The remaining portion of the saree must be turned once around the body and then draped over the left shoulder. Arrange the pleats on this part of the saree and then pin them up on the left shoulder to prevent the pallu from falling off.

This is the most common method to wear a saree. With matching bindi and jewellery you feel like a complete Indian woman.

Different Ways of Wearing a Sari

Different regions of India have their own distinct forms of draping a Saree. Some of these are outlined below:

Gujarati way: This version of draping, ccommonly known as the seedha pallu way, is also found in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. Instead of opening to the left, the pleats are tucked so that they open to the right. Then, the pallu is taken to the back and brought over the right shoulder. It is then spread across the chest, and the left edge is tucked in the petticoat at the back.

Maharashtra method: Instead of the usual five-and-a-half meters, the sari in this version measures eight meters. One portion of the sari is drawn up between the legs and tucked in behind at the waist, while another portion is draped as a pallu over the bosom. Thus it forms a kind of divided sari, allowing greater freedom of movement.

Tamilian version: Like the Maharashtra version, the sare in this version, too, measures eight meters. After wrapping around the waist, the pleats are positioned along the left leg. The rest of the sari is taken over the left shoulder, wrapped once again round the waist and tucked on the left side.

Bengali style: The saree is worn pleatless; it is wrapped around the waist, brought back to the right side and the pallu is thrown over the left shoulder. The pallu is then brought up under the right arm and once again cast over the left shoulder.

Jamavar

Jamevaar are most unique. Like the finest paisley design, very intricate, largets motifts, orient designing, Indian culture woven in weaves of Jamavar in Kashmir, India. Pashmina Jamavars, jamevaar saris are hot fashion since centuries. Recommended by the world's leading fashion designers, a jamevaar sarees, Pashmina Jamavar is still a fashion amongst the rich, bold and beautiful people of UK, Europe, USA and the rest of the world. Kaluram Sarees offers you largest saree catalogue on internet where you can find exclusive jamavar saree collection of jamevar saris, jamevaar sarees in different designs and colors for festivals and traditional get together for online shopping.

L'AFFAIRE JAMAWAR: The glory, and the colors of nature captured skillfully on cloth characterize the famous Jamawars of Kashmir. "Jama" means robe and "war" is yard. King and nobles bought the woven fabric by the yard, wearing it as a gown or using it as a wrap or shawl.

WEAVING JAMAWAR: The base of the Jamawar was always wool-with perhaps addition of a little cotton. The brocaded parts were woven in silk or pashmina. Most of the designs were floral, with the kairy or paisley as the predominant motif.

The art of weaving a Jamavar was painstaking and intricate one. Several kannis or little wooden shuttles of different colors were used for a single weft line of the fabric. Upto 50 colors could be worked into one shawl-the most popular colors being zard (yellow), sufed (white), mushki (black), ferozi (turquoise), ingari (green), uda (purple), gulnar (crimson) and kirmiz (scarlet). Months of hard work went into the preparation for each Jamawar, with not more than an inch being added per day in a 48-inch width of material.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Said to have been brought to Kashmir from Persia many centuries ago, the art of Jamevar weaving grew and flourished, reaching its zenith during the Mughal period. Emperor Akbar was one of its greatest patrons. He brought many weavers from East Turkestan to Kashmir.

The early 19th century saw a major innovation in the weaving of the Jamevaar. Embroidery began to be used to enhance and embellish the woven design. Some shawls actually recreated the entire woven design in embroidery so skillfully that it was hard to tell one from the other!

However, by the end of the century, the art of Jamavar weaving had begun to wane. Jamevar weaving had mainly flourished when the craftsman's time and patience had been unlimited; when the superb quality of his work had brought him as much if not more satisfaction than the money he earned from it, when the patronage he enjoyed had been both discerning and magnanimous.

With industrialization, urbanization and the quickening tempo of modern life, all this changed, reducing this beautiful art to a relic. Jamewars survived only as valuable and cherished antiques in a few homes and museums.

REVIVING THE ART :

In recent years, the Indian government has attempted a modest revival of this art by setting up a shawl weaving center at Kanihama in Kashmir.

Efforts to revive this art have also been made by bringing in innovations like the creation of Jamevaar saris by craftsmen in Varanasi.

Each sari is a shimmering tapestry of intricate design, in colors that range from the traditionally deep, rich shades to delicate pastels. A minimum of four months of patient effort goes into the creation of each Jamawar sari.

Many of the Jamawar sarees now have matching silk shawls attached to them, creating elegant ensembles fit for royalty. New things are being tried out to make jamwar more popular. Saris woven equally in silk and pashmina; saris embellished by the incredibly minute aksi embroidery and taking more than nine months to complete; saris which draw inspiration from the weaving techniques of Bhutan-all these are being experimented with and improved upon.

Another and perhaps the most vital project is the documentation of the various motifs of the Jamawar weave, so that this ancient and exquisite art may be preserved for generations to come.